State makes poor progress towards skill devpt target

Karnataka is off the mark on its skill development target this year to make the demographic employable, according to data tabled in the Assembly.

The state had targeted providing skill development training to 1.88 lakh persons under various initiatives this year, against which 45,135 have been trained - a progress of just 23% - according to a written reply by Minister for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Minister P T Parameshwar Naik during the recent session.

Officials, however, expressed confidence on reaching the target before the end of this fiscal. Apparently, training of another 20,720 persons is underway.

Also, amid the debate on jobs data at the national-level, the state government has provided inconsistent figures on employment created through various schemes.

In a reply to Belgaum Rural MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar, Naik said Karnataka had provided ‘employment opportunities’ under various skill development initiatives to 60,847 people since 2017-18.

In a reply to Kudachi MLA P Rajeev, this number changed to 37,190 and 86,543.

The minister also told Rajeev that 37,910 persons got employment through ‘mini job fairs’ organised by the district employment exchanges, and another 51,122 candidates were employed through job fairs conducted by the Karnataka Skill Development Corporation.

To a question on unemployment, Naik said the state had 3.44 lakh unemployed persons who had registered with district employment exchanges seeking jobs.

The skill development initiatives are targeted towards those in the 18-35 age cohort, Naik said.

“The state’s target is to provide skills training to 1.88 crore persons by 2030. And 70% of those trained will be provided employment,” he stated.

The Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood imparts skills training under a number of schemes: Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, National Urban Livelihood Mission, Government Tool Room and Training Centres (GTTCs), Karnataka German Technical Training Institute, Chief Minister’s Kaushalya Karnataka
Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Kaushalya Vikas Yojana and Karnataka Vocational Training and Skill Development Corporation.

Karnataka is setting up centres of excellence at GTTCs at four locations - Bengaluru, Mysuru, Dandeli and Kalaburagi. Similarly, training centres are being set up in Hosapete, Yadgir, Lingsugur and Humnabad with the help of the Hyderabad-Karnataka Regional Development Board and Dassault Systemes.

Plus, 22 new Industrial Training Institutes have been sanctioned across the state. This will help the state reach its training target, Skill Development and Labour secretary Amlan Aditya Biswas told DH recently.